Brokerages Set CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Price Target at $45.64

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.5714.

Several research analysts have weighed in on CNP shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of CNP stock opened at $41.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.97. CenterPoint Energy has a one year low of $36.60 and a one year high of $45.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.55. The company has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.46.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.12 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 11.61%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 54.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $254,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 15.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 76,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 10,277 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 5.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 69,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after purchasing an additional 3,821 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 11.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 55,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 15,922 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.